Marketing

How to Solve Your Customer's Problems and Make Money Doing It

Emma Ruehl — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 19:51:54 +0000

How to Solve Your Customer's Problems and Make Money Doing It

Emma Ruehl Mon, 07/31/2017 - 2:51pm

You’ve invested the time and effort to craft a solid sales message and marketing campaign. The offer is great, the price is right, and people should be flocking in your doors and email inboxes to purchase. You’ve even paid a company to help get your website to rank in the top five of Google’s search results page, and your site’s traffic has soared as a result. But somehow, the sales aren’t rolling in.

Turns out, ranking #1 in Google doesn’t directly get you sales. Helping people does.

Back to the Drawing Board

At the heart of every potential sale is a person with a problem. Is your business the right solution to the problem? Does your prospect feel understood, cared for, and compelled to partner with you to work towards a solution? Before you sell, it’s imperative that you understand the person and the problem. Otherwise, you’re marketing blindly. Here’s where to start.

1. Stop Trying to Think For Your Customer

Instead of developing products and messaging around inferences and feelings, ask the consumer directly. Start with a simple survey asking about their pain points (there are a ton of great chat bots and survey tools out there right now), interview people as they use your site to uncover frustrations, and read through your reviews and testimonials.

Photo via Olark.

Uncover why your prospect went looking for a solution and other approaches they’ve tried. Why have your customers chosen you? What almost stopped them from choosing you? Before you prescribe the solution, flush out the problem, and observe it from multiple angles. It’s your goal, as the Master of the Solution, to better understand the problem than your prospects and customers.

2. Build Content that Resonates with Solution-Seekers

Your prospects and customers don’t want content shoved down their throat. They want to encounter messaging that speaks to them and their problems. Have a conversation that brings them to the conclusion that you are the right fit and worth their dollars.

Screenshot via Hubspot

Much of the best content comes directly from the mouths of your customers, which is another reason why surveys and interviews are critical. There is no better way to help someone feel understood than to translate their very own thoughts and feelings into helpful messaging. Did a prospect express frustration around cost? Include messaging about value, or offer a free trial. Even better: when you know their pain points, include a list of features that directly addresses those pain points.

3. Rid Design of Disruption and Trend

So many brands are latched on the heels of the latest design trends. Heard of parallax? Ghost buttons? Hero rotator images? Perhaps you’re not familiar with the terminology, but no doubt you and your competitors have toyed with one or all of these design trends.

Look familiar? Screenshot via ABC.

It’s rare that businesses choose design elements based on actual research; typically, design is dictated by a template you purchased, or someone on your sales team saw an effect on a competitor’s site and thought it would be “cool” to implement on yours. If everyone else is doing it, you should be too, right?

The problem with trend is that it’s often broken from its original context and applied to a million different projects, despite relevance and suitability. When design dictates development and content, you end up with a pretty portfolio site that is irrelevant to your target audience. And all your money goes to making a piece of art that no one buys.

The best design adds to, and doesn’t detract from, user experience. It’s a supporting player that should be the last thing people notice. It should help logically guide users through your site architecture, keeping interest up and building trust in your brand.

Easy to digest and navigate site via Ted.

At the end of the day, your content is the star of the show. It is what resonates with your customers at their core, communicating that you can solve their problem and solidifying the connection that supports a lasting, mutually-beneficial relationship.

4. Invest In an SEO Strategy that Seeks to First Answer a Query

At the heart of SEO is simply being the best answer to a particular query; it’s inherently about solving problems. No doubt, you’ve searched yourself for product or service pricing, clicked on one of the top search results that you expected to contain pricing information, and much to your disappointment found no pricing but a barrage of CTA popups and contact forms.

Screenshot via Google

What happens when people don’t find what they’re looking for? They’ll exit your site. They’ll delete your email. They’ll go somewhere else because there will always be someone else who is actually solving their problem.

Be a smart marketer and lead your team to new thinking. If your business has been stuck in a rut of one-sided communication and has no idea what your customers and prospects actually want, be the voice for them. Seek to understand pain points and solve the problem; don’t add to a million other voices trying to tell consumers what they want. If you put in the effort to understand your prospects, they will reward you.

Don't Build Things Differently. Build Different Things.

Emma Ruehl — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 17:08:40 +0000

Don't Build Things Differently. Build Different Things.

Emma Ruehl Mon, 10/26/2015 - 12:08pm

You don’t need Millennials to tell you that mobile sites matter. Mobile usage is slowly taking over desktop, and there are no signs of slowing down. Just this year, we saw the scales significantly tip towards mobile, taking 51% of the digital media time pie, compared to a 42% share for desktop. Some best practices from desktop web design carry over to mobile principles, but it would be a mistake to treat them as the same animal. As Will Critchlow, founder and CEO of Distilled, said, “Don’t build things differently; build different things.”

Stop Trying to Fit Mobile into a Desktop Box

Mobile site design shouldn’t be an afterthought anymore, and many developers even argue that you should start designing for mobile first. It’s a different experience than desktop, and people use each platform for different things. When you’re trying to find the hours of operation for a local restaurant on your phone, you may give up and go somewhere else if you can’t easily find them. Perhaps the hours are embedded in a paragraph on a less-obvious page, easier spotted on the desktop version of the site. This matters more than annoying a user; you might just be missing out on a potential sale.

4 Mobile Musts

Simple, simple, simple. Keep your content clear and focused. Users won’t take the time to search for what they’re looking for on your mobile site; they’ll go somewhere else. Navigation menus should be easy to spot and manageable in size, and for the life of me, do not make users scroll to see the whole menu.
Function over form. Performance is king on mobile. Your visitors will appreciate a site that runs fast (see earlier about winning an argument). This isn’t the place for impressive, detailed graphics that take ages to load.
Less is more. Less copy, images, and form fields. We’re talking bare essentials. Your site should feel more like a basic outline than a detailed term paper.
Build it for sharing. Be sure to give mobile users many opportunities to share content on social media (when appropriate). Chances are, when someone is looking at your restaurant menu, Facebook is open in another tab. An overwhelming 50% of Facebook and Gmail users are on mobile. Let’s give them some bragging opportunities.

A Final Note

Even if Google Analytics says you don’t have a sizable amount of mobile users who matter, don’t ignore them. Your site may not be built for a great mobile experience that encourages mobile users, which means you’re losing out on that 50% of users who could share your content on social media. More mobile users equals more shares, which could cause more mobile users, and then more shares (and potential sales). It’s a vicious, vicious cycle.

Submitted by digett-admin on Mon, 09/26/2016 - 9:12pm

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Real Marketing Ideas from a Fake Sport

Amy Peveto — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 16:17:51 +0000

Real Marketing Ideas from a Fake Sport

Amy Peveto Tue, 04/07/2015 - 11:17am

A few weeks ago I was snookered into watching WrestleMania, the WWE’s yearly wrestle-palooza. It’s ridiculous and clearly fake, but I couldn’t stop watching because it was packed with amazing stories. If only there was a way to bring this storytelling energy into the marketing world!

Oh wait

You’re probably not selling wrestling tickets or promoting guys in spandex singlets, but you are selling something, and you do have stories. The fun part is finding those stories and figuring out how to tell them.

The WWE has the same challenge. Just like NBC during the Olympics, WrestleMania creators must find a way to draw viewers quickly into the wrestlers’ stories.

But unlike the Olympics — where everyone really only needs to care about the athletes for a few weeks every couple of years — the WWE must tell stories interesting enough to keep people coming back week after week for decades.

How do they do this, and how can their strategies be valuable to your business?

Tell lots of stories

Some WWE characters have been around for more than 20 years. That’s a lot of stories, and a lot of effort spent evolving them to keep people interested.

Takeaway: Don’t let your stories languish. Update your case studies and post new blog articles; dive into video and other new storytelling forms. Always be on the lookout for new tales you can share with your audience.

Make them larger than life

The stories WrestleMania tells are so over the top, I can’t even describe them. For a quick example, check out this video (language/content warning):

This is crackers, right? But I bet you chose a side.

Takeaway: Go big or go home. Give your audience something to love or hate, and make them pick a side: Mac or Windows, Chevy or Ford, your product or your competitor’s.

Want to sell? Tell stories

The first WrestleMania took place in 1985 in front of 19,000 people; in 2015 there were over 76,000 — plus millions of television viewers around the globe.

All because of storytelling.

These strategies do not belong to the WWE. They are yours to leverage to grow your business. Use them well and you will tell great stories.

More marketing ideas

Relationships that Last: Transforming the Relationship with Your Agency into a Lasting, Rewarding Partnership

JD Collier — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 15:05:51 +0000

Relationships that Last: Transforming the Relationship with Your Agency into a Lasting, Rewarding Partnership

JD Collier Tue, 02/10/2015 - 9:05am

In the spirit of the month of February and Valentine's Day...

Can we be sappy?

Will you be our Valentine?

We want you to love us and we want to love you. More importantly though, as an agency, we want a lasting and rewarding relationship for your business and for our business.

In our lives, we’ve all had some good relationships and some not so good relationships. You may have had some bad experiences with a digital marketing agency partner. You need someone who can be there for you in the good times and in the challenging times. It’s time for a good relationship!

First, are you ok alone?

Most of us jump into relationships, and choosing an agency partner is no exception — we need a website, we need to increase sales, we need someone to fix our website — the list goes on and on. This is normal. We all need someone.

But wait … are you ready for a relationship with a Digital Marketing Agency?

Do you have a goal for your new website?
Do you have an internal approval process for this type of project?
Do you have a healthy communication process inside your organization?
Do you have a budget set aside to accomplish your goals?

It is ok if you don’t have everything worked out. It is acceptable to work out internal issues with your new partner as long as you have the motivation to improve and the humility to know we are all a work in progress.

So, take a good look in the mirror. Are you ready for an agency partner?

Ensure you have the right partner

Success needs consistency as a foundation. You need a partner who is compatible with you. If you only need a website and don’t plan to maintain the relationship after it is complete, consider that you will find it challenging to find long-term success.

To find the right agency partner, remember you will need to work with this partner like they are a coworker. You will talk to this partner a lot over the relationship. When checking out prospective partners, here two things to check out:

Ensure you have compatible communication styles.
This one is difficult to measure, but do you click? Do you like to joke around before getting to business? Do you like a logical thought process? There is no right answer—there is only your answer. Does this partner feel like a good cultural fit?
Do you like their work?
Check if their previous work has a range that includes what you think your audience will like. Expect to be challenged a bit on this one. The agency should push you to try new things, to explore what might work best for your audience … after all, you are hiring them to advise you from their expertise. On this topic, it is just good to make certain you respect their work and don’t find that it has poor quality.

Work at it

Once you are in the relationship, you need to put in the work. No one wants to dread talking to someone, especially not someone you depend on.

Keep the relationship alive. Here are 4 tips to keep the relationship with your agency partner healthy.

Keep money conversations healthy
Establish trust and then allow your partner to feel trusted. If expenses are regularly challenged, it leaves people feeling untrusted or frustrated. Try to maintain a healthy flow of how much is in the budget and expect your partner to maintain a healthy flow of how much work has been performed.
Stay on the same team
An agency partnership is just that—a partnership. Both sides need to keep a “we’re on the same team” mindset. It can be very helpful and create positive results; while the opposite, adversarial thoughts, can slowly corrode the relationship.
Bad things happen, keep lines of communication open
Things happen. Keep your partner informed when problems occur and expect them to do the same. Stay engaged in the partnership, feed it and keep it healthy. The partnership can yield a long-term benefit to both parties.
Discuss hard topics
Keep lines of communication open. When something comes along that is challenging to discuss … the best course of action is to discuss it. Here are two tips to discussing hard topics: 1. Wait a day (sometimes a good night’s sleep can eliminate an issue), 2. Be direct, specific and balanced in your discussion. Open lines of communication keep the relationship productive and successful.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. Ensure you are ready for a relationship, make certain you have the right partner along for the ride and then keep working at the relationship.

A long-term relationship with an agency partner can be rewarding for both your business and your partner.

Digett thoroughly enjoys our long-term clients. We enjoy the ability to forge a deeper relationship and trust with our clients. We enjoy talking to our clients, but we must admit to an extra spring of excitement when one of our long-term partners calls. It just feels good to talk to a trusted partner and work through projects.

The Best Writing Tips for Engaging Your Audience

Amy Peveto — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 15:23:37 +0000

The Best Writing Tips for Engaging Your Audience

Amy Peveto Tue, 12/23/2014 - 9:23am

I love writing, but it’s a tough gig. Relying on blogging “inspiration” is a terrible strategy, so you have to get used to knuckling down and just getting it done — and getting it done right.

Few writers and marketers did it better than David Ogilvy, a Manhattan advertising executive many called “The Father of Advertising.” He changed advertising and marketing the way the wheel changed long-distance travel.

Writing tips from David Ogilvy

In September 1982, Ogilvy sent the following memo to everyone on staff at his agency:

“The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well.

Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches.

Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints:

Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times.
Write the way you talk. Naturally.
Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
Never use jargon words like reconceptualize,demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
Never write more than two pages on any subject.
Check your quotations.
Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning — and then edit it.
If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.”

These rules are solid gold, and should be painted in gigantic letters on the wall in every marketer’s office.

Think well, write well

Writing is just as much science as art; I rely on Ogilvy’s memo to provide the science and the story of what I’m writing to provide the art.

Great writing makes marketing better, consumers happier, and the world a better place.

Time to Deck Your Marketing Strategy This Holiday Season

Jennifer Edwards — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 18:23:14 +0000

Time to Deck Your Marketing Strategy This Holiday Season

Jennifer Edwards Wed, 12/10/2014 - 12:23pm

Although Black Friday has come and gone, we are still just getting into the holiday shopping season. Don’t wait any longer to pump up your marketing strategy — now is the time to give your customers some holiday cheer. Here are three ways you can improve your marketing this holiday season.

Oh what a sight

Winter is one of the most beautiful times of the year, so take advantage of it by wowing your customers with gorgeous visuals of the season. Whether you prefer an elegant Christmas tree or a snow covered forest, make sure to use high-quality photos that will catch people’s attention.

If you are ready to take it a step further, try asking your customers to send in photos. What is better than using great visuals made by real customers? Not only will they love being recognized on social media, but incorporating user-generated images can even allow you to run promotions centered around your fans’ content.

Send some cheer

You would be surprised how many companies actually take the time to send out holiday greetings this time of year. Stand out from your competition by getting a little creative this year with your cards or e-cards.

Want to stand out even more? Send your holiday card on non-traditional card-sending holidays, like New Year’s Eve. You’ll be sure to be the company on your customers’ minds as they go into the new year.

Give a little back

Since it is the season of giving, why not make a donation to a charitable foundation or volunteer some time for a special cause in place of sending gift baskets to your clients. This is the time to give back to the community, so choose a cause that hits the heart and gets your entire team excited.

And let your clients know about it, too! Include in your next newsletter or holiday card that your company is donating — whether it’s money or time — to a great cause this holiday season. You’d be amazed how far a little “warm and fuzzy” can go.

Are you ready for the season?

Preparing your marketing strategy for the holiday season doesn’t have to be daunting. Instead, make it a fun and creative time the whole office can get in on.

Are you using an outdated strategy? Download our Digital Marketing Guide to Growth to get started on developing your content marketing strategy that will truly wow your customers this season.

[Image credit: wlodi- license]

"P" is for Product, Above All

Mark Figart — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 15:13:18 +0000

"P" is for Product, Above All

Mark Figart Wed, 11/19/2014 - 9:13am

In classic marketing academia, the so-called "Four P's" comprising the "marketing mix" are product, price, place, and promotion. Since the dawn of the age of mass media, the marketer's job may have centered most around "promotion".

If you've had the pleasure of taking in an episode or two of the AMC series "Mad Men", I suspect that you would agree that brand promotion is the near-absolute focus of Don Draper and his creative team.

Thanks to the web, to social media, and probably mostly to Google, however, promotion seems much less important for a marketer's attention than the product itself. Despite a company's best attempts at promotion, the truth of the word on the street is likely to trump it.

Why, then, are marketers so often focused on advertising and other promotional activities, and so seldom concerned with making the product, the experience, itself better?

Given the continued rise of the service economy, the product is often heavy on "experience" and rather light on a tangible deliverable. In the case of commodity-type services—in which little differentiation exists between the end results of two or more competing firms—the experience may be the only differentiator. How can we improve the experience, if only just incrementally, step by tiny step? How can we build in a continuous and iterative means of ensuring that each successive customer enjoys a better service than the last? Smart marketers know that figuring this out will do more for the brand than any claims the brand itself can make.

Beautiful websites, compelling content, and effective calls-to-action are fantastic, but only to the extent that they represent products and services that are equally beautiful, compelling and effective (or substitute your own remarkable trait).

Submitted by Travis Parigi on Fri, 12/12/2014 - 8:46am

Great post. couldn't agree more. It's the Product!

Submitted by Amy Peveto on Tue, 12/16/2014 - 2:57pm

Thanks, Travis.

Thinking Mobile: How to Write Killer Content for All Devices

Jennifer Edwards — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 16:19:47 +0000

Thinking Mobile: How to Write Killer Content for All Devices

Jennifer Edwards Tue, 11/11/2014 - 10:19am

At the 2014 Content Strategy Summit, Ginny Redish discussed the do’s and don’t of content writing. Her most important tip: think mobile. But what does this mean for our content? Let’s go over how to create killer content that is easy to read and adaptable across multiple devices.

First, let’s plan

Before you can get started on writing, you must first create a plan. Whether this is an umbrella plan for your entire company or you are planning for each piece of content, it is important to consider three things when writing content:

Purpose: What do you want to achieve? Ask yourself, “If my content is successful, these people will do [this].”
Personas: Who are we writing the content for? What devices will they use? What should we keep in mind about them?
Conversations: What is the message? Is your content answering the questions the site visitor came with?

By keeping these three points in mind, you will have a better idea of how to form your content and provide a clear message that not only engages the site visitor, but more importantly, answers their questions.

How to think mobile

With over 50% of American adults using smartphones, it’s pretty likely you will have just as many mobile visitors to your site as desktop ones. With so many electronic devices available these days, how can you possibly write content for each one? Even responsive websites don’t always make your content look great across all devices.

Redish’s rule of thumb for avoiding this issue is simple: write all your content as you would for your mobile site — if it looks great on your mobile, then it will look great on all other devices.

Write less for more impact

Writing less for a mobile site doesn’t mean you are “dumbing down the content.” Instead, you are simply respecting your busy site visitor’s time. You can save page space and provide a clear, concise message by shortening phrases. For example, instead of “at this point in time” try using “now.”

Another key component to keep in mind is the order of your information. Visitors will only read until they have satisfied their need for visiting your site. So make sure to put your key messages and/or warnings before your marketing hype.

For example, Redish talks about how two women visited a mobile site for a stain remover to learn how to use the product on a silk blouse. After going through the directions, the women would most likely stop reading because they received the information they were looking for.

However, farther down on the page there is a warning that the product cannot be used on silk. That kind of information should be first.

Ready to write?

Writing killer content doesn’t mean long, complex sentences. Instead, focus on creating simple sentences and a clear message that provide the answers your visitors are looking for. The best way to achieve this is by thinking mobile — write your content for your mobile site and it will continue to look great across all other devices.

Not sure where to get started or using an outdated marketing plan? Download our Marketing Plan for Growth to get started developing your content marketing strategy.

[Image credit: Mike Licht - license]

Perception vs Reality: What Do You Value?

Jennifer Edwards — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 17:40:23 +0000

Perception vs Reality: What Do You Value?

Jennifer Edwards Wed, 10/15/2014 - 12:40pm

The advertising world is full of tricks and ploys for adjusting consumers’ views on products and services, but what do these tricks actually do? In a TED Talk from 2009 Rory Sutherland presented the idea of how changing perceived value can be just as satisfying as changing the real value. His findings reveal some interesting things for both advertisers and consumers.

Perceived value vs real value

When it comes to evaluating the value of a product, there are two way to measure it.

Real value is related to the actual manufacturing cost and the price the product is sold at for profit. In layman's terms, the real (or actual) value is what the product is actually worth, without any outside expectations from the consumer or seller.

Perceived (or intangible) value is what consumers think the product is actually worth. As marketers, we create intangible value to make up for real value. According to Sutherland, perceived value can be used to “make new things familiar and familiar things new.”

Creating perceived value

In his presentation, Sutherland discusses how advertisers can build perceived value in multiple ways—from creating symbolic value to adding contextual information—thus increasing the overall value of the product to consumers. However, like Sutherland said, you should remember that all value is subjective. But how do we create perceived value?

Sutherland asked a compelling question: can we tinker with perception rather than trying to change reality? Well, we can. In fact, Frederick the Great of Prussia tested this idea back in 1774, when he rebranded the potato.

Frederick used a little reverse psychology when his subjects rejected the idea of growing potatoes to protect against famine. After the public rejected the potato, Frederick declared it a royal vegetable and had it planted in the royal garden with guards protecting it night and day. However, the guards had secret orders to not guard the potato very well.

As Sutherland put it, peasants tend to know if something is worth guarding, it’s worth stealing. Thus began a massive underground potato growing operation and the potato was rebranded.

Although no actual modifications were done to the potato itself, Frederick the Great was able to tinker with the public’s perception of the vegetable. When declaring the potato strictly a royal vegetable, it sparked the public’s interest into why it was off-limits. The king made a familiar thing new.

Putting it to work

Creating intangible value provides fundamental opportunities to change consumer behavior without having to adjust the real value of your product/service—Sutherland discusses multiple examples of companies building intangible value as a substitute for using up labor or limited resources.

Although the way the intangible value was created varied throughout the companies, they all did one thing: increased the value of a product without doing anything to the actual product.

Strategy is key

Adjusting your product or service’s intangible value within your marketing strategy can provide efficient and cost saving methods to increase the overall value.

Are you using an outdated or ineffective marketing strategy? Download our Digital Marketing Guide to Growth to get started developing your content marketing strategy and showing your true value.

[Image credit: Quinn Dombrowski - license]

Mind the Customer Service Gap: Are You Falling In?

Jennifer Edwards — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 15:24:08 +0000

Mind the Customer Service Gap: Are You Falling In?

Jennifer Edwards Tue, 09/30/2014 - 10:24am

There are potholes forming between consumers and businesses. These gaps arise when the customer’s expectation of the service doesn’t quite match up with their actual experience of the service. However, we as service providers are not at a complete disadvantage; understanding the five "gaps" that can lead to unsuccessful delivery of service — and what factors affect them — will help prevent you from leaving your customers disappointed.

The 5 gaps

When the experience does not match the expectation, a gap arises. The Gap Model proposes five ways in which providers' and consumers' mismatched expectations can cause problems:

Consumer expectation and management perception: the service provider did not correctly perceive what the customer wants or needs
Management perception and service quality specification: the service provider may have correctly perceived what the customer wants, but did not set a performance standard
Service quality specification and service delivery: the service provider did not provide adequate training or was incapable to meet the set service standard
Service delivery and external communication: assumed expectations derived from company advertisements are not met at the time of service delivery
Expected service and experienced service: the consumer misinterprets the service quality

Mind the gap

All of these gaps can hinder a company in some way; to ensure you and your customer are meeting eye to eye, there are a few factors to consider when preparing a service or product for the target audience.

Market research

I’m sure you’ve heard it a million times: do your research. A company must conduct market research to understand their service or product’s actual demand in the market, desired features, and what the target audience’s expectations are.

Some of these research methods include comprehensive studies, customer panels and interviews, and even customer complaints.

Communication channels

When trying to reach (and understand) your target audience, the fewer communication channels between management and the customer the better.

With fewer channels, it is more likely for customer preferences to be incorporated into higher-level decision making when it comes to the product or service.

Are you sinking?

If you have found yourself with a disconnect between your customers and company, you might be sinking into one of these gaps. Thankfully this doesn’t mean you have to be ready to go down with the ship!

By identifying which gap your company is currently facing, you will be able to focus on reconnecting with your customer and providing a product or service that meets their expectations.

Whether you over-exaggerated how fast your delivery is or the product’s features are not exactly what your customer imagined, conducting the research and communicating with your customers can bring you back on track.

Strategy is key

Are you using an outdated or ineffective marketing strategy? Download our Marketing Plan for Growth to get started developing your content marketing strategy.

Download now

[Image Credit: Robert S. Donovan - license]

Marketing

How to Solve Your Customer's Problems and Make Money Doing It

Back to the Drawing Board

1. Stop Trying to Think For Your Customer

2. Build Content that Resonates with Solution-Seekers

3. Rid Design of Disruption and Trend

4. Invest In an SEO Strategy that Seeks to First Answer a Query

LEAVE A COMMENT

Don't Build Things Differently. Build Different Things.

Stop Trying to Fit Mobile into a Desktop Box

4 Mobile Musts

A Final Note

LEAVE A COMMENT

Real Marketing Ideas from a Fake Sport

Oh wait

Tell lots of stories

Make them larger than life

Want to sell? Tell stories

More marketing ideas

LEAVE A COMMENT

Relationships that Last: Transforming the Relationship with Your Agency into a Lasting, Rewarding Partnership

First, are you ok alone?

Ensure you have the right partner

Work at it

Conclusion

LEAVE A COMMENT

The Best Writing Tips for Engaging Your Audience

Writing tips from David Ogilvy

Think well, write well

More on writing

LEAVE A COMMENT

Time to Deck Your Marketing Strategy This Holiday Season

Oh what a sight

Send some cheer

Give a little back

Are you ready for the season?

LEAVE A COMMENT

"P" is for Product, Above All

LEAVE A COMMENT

Thinking Mobile: How to Write Killer Content for All Devices

First, let’s plan

How to think mobile

Write less for more impact

Ready to write?

LEAVE A COMMENT

Perception vs Reality: What Do You Value?

Perceived value vs real value

Creating perceived value

Putting it to work

Strategy is key

LEAVE A COMMENT

Mind the Customer Service Gap: Are You Falling In?

The 5 gaps

Mind the gap

Market research

Communication channels

Are you sinking?

Strategy is key

LEAVE A COMMENT